And off he went. Without even giving him any sort of response at that. On the one hand, this at least meant Maxim had spoken the final words of their conversation; didn't have to fear some witty or hurtful retort from Ben. Part of him simply wanted to see the other boy's silence as resignation. Of course, the other part of him wasn't convinced of that at all.

Ben was just simply ignoring him. No sign of anger, irritation or even intimidation, nothing. Just nothing. In a way, this was even worse than any insult the guy could have hurled his way. It was almost enough for Maxim to want to follow him, say more to him, try to get his attention. But he wouldn't stoop so low, no goddamn way he would.

He even went so far as to force himself not to look after Ben as he wandered off. That chapter was finished, end of story. Whatever the future held in store for the other boy, Maxim was most likely not going to be part of it. Mostly because he was certain that Ben's story was going to end with his untimely end. Maxim didn't need to be around to witness that.

It surprised him a little, of course. Him writing the boy off that easily, accepting Ben's death as an inevitability and not even being that bothered about it. Then again, had there not been times in the past where he secretly wished for that exact guy to just drop dead? He hadn't been serious about it of course, or so he thought at least. But now that it was suddenly so very, very possible and real, he wasn't sure anymore. He wasn't sure about a lot of things, except that he needed to get himself moving, to somewhere not out in the open like that.

Maybe he'd seek refuge in one of the many buildings around. Or maybe he'd just keep walking, hoping to run into someone both capable and trustworthy. Did he even know such a person?

Maxim shook his head, as if to rid himself of all the excess thought in his head. For once, overthinking things wasn't going to help him out any further. He just had to go and see what he'd stumble across next. Then he could still lay out new plans. He really wished he'd know how to use that stupid bow in his bag though.